


Camp Crush

by supernatural9917



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Bisexual Castiel (Supernatural), Bisexual Dean Winchester, Camp counsellor Castiel, Camp counsellor Dean, Dean Has Self-Esteem Issues, Explicit Sexual Content, Grad Student Castiel, M/M, Mechanic Dean Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 11:01:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15169271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supernatural9917/pseuds/supernatural9917
Summary: Dean Winchester has been going to Camp Chitaqua every summer for most of his life, first as a camper, and for the last three years, as a counsellor. He’s disappointed when his co-counsellor Benny has to cancel after an accident, but his replacement turns out to be anything but a disappointment. Castiel Novak is smart, strong, bendy, super hot, and for some reason really into Dean. Dean’s summer romances have never ended particularly well, but Cas seems determined to be more than just another camp crush.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started this story as a one-shot based on a Facebook prompt, and it rapidly ballooned out of control as Dean and Cas just had more story to tell me. I nearly fainted when I learned that the amazing Crypto had claimed it, and I'm sure you'll agree that the art is just gorgeous! Be sure to check the art masterpost [here](https://space-wolf.com/post/175565477512/my-semi-nsfw-art-for-supernatural9917fics), and Crypto's [Tumblr](https://pantydean.tumblr.com/) for more amazing work. You can find my Tumblr [here](https://supernatural9917fic.tumblr.com/), and be sure to check out the other Mini Bangs on the challenge [Tumblr](https://deancasminibang.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> Big thank you to [athaclena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/athaclena/) for again being a beta extraordinaire!

Dean Winchester was just throwing the last of his stuff into the trunk of his Chevy Impala when his cell phone rang. 'Benny, my man! We're gonna be seeing each other in a couple of hours, do you really miss me that much?'

'Hey Dean. Uh, listen, I'm not going to make it to camp after all.'

'What? Why the hell not?' Dean had grown up going to Camp Chitaqua, and for the last three years he'd been a counsellor alongside his friend Benny. It wasn't like the guy to cancel at the last minute.

'I'm kind of in the hospital.'

'WHAT? What happened?'

'I broke my leg mountain biking yesterday.'

Dean groaned. 'Dude, you couldn't have waited another day? You know there are loads of trails at the camp.'

 'Well, it was kind of a date. With Andrea.'

'I bet breaking your leg impressed her,' Dean said sarcastically.

'It wasn't my sexiest move,' Benny chuckled, 'but she has been to visit me, said she wasn't sure if she should smack me or kiss me.'

'Which was it?'

'Both.'

Dean shook his head and laughed, sliding into the seat and starting up his baby. 'All right man, well, take care of yourself. I'll be cursing you every time I have to deal with a dozen rowdy teenagers by myself.'

'Oh, don't worry about that, brother. Donna said she had some alternates lined up, so you'll still have a bunkmate.'

'Oh goody, a complete stranger to deal with.'

'You and I were complete strangers three years ago,' Benny reminded him. 'I'm sure it'll be fine.'

'Dude, no way I'm getting so lucky with a co-counsellor again. There’ll be some problem with the new guy, I'm sure.'

'Well, just give him a chance at least. Being a total asshole to him from the start won't help.'

'Yeah, fine, I'll play nice. I'll give you a call later to fill you in on the winter gossip.'

'Thanks, brother. Hey, it's time for my sponge bath, gotta go.'

'Lucky bastard.'

'Not so much, my nurse is called Steve.'

'I stand by my statement. Later dude.'

'Bye, Dean. Good luck.'

Dean ended the call and pulled out of the driveway. Camp Chitaqua, Minnesota was about a ninety-minute drive from Sioux Falls going the speed limit, so he pulled into the private road a little over an hour later. Donna came out to greet him with a hug.

'Hiya Dean, good to see ya. You hear about Benny?'

'Yeah, it sucks, dude. He said you got a pinch hitter?'

'You betcha. Hannah's older brother was needing something for the summer before he starts grad school, so we've got him roped in. He's worked with kids before, so hopefully it'll all be fine.'

'Cool. Anybody else here yet?'

'Nope, just the Novaks, they got here about ten minutes ago and were taking stuff to Hannah's cabin first. Why don't you pull up to your cabin to stow your gear and then park back up after? You're in the same place as last year.'

'Thanks Donna, I'll be back in a bit.' Dean drove up the track to Bear Lodge. It was the oldest of the cabins on the campsite, with small windows that never quite seemed to let in enough light; everyone jokingly called it The Bunker, but for those in the know it was actually the best cabin to be in. Not only was it the biggest with the best lockers and showers, it also had the holy grail for the counsellors: a separate room from the campers. Sure, it was barely a room at all, with only enough space for a chest of drawers and a bunk bed, but it had a _door_ with a _lock_. The other counsellors slept in the open plan rooms with the campers, so privacy was at a major premium. Dean and Benny had earned their place in The Bunker last year, and Dean thought it was a bit unfair to the other male counsellors that a new guy was taking the coveted place. On the other hand, he was the most experienced one there, so it made sense to put the new guy with him; besides, he didn't particularly feel like sharing with any of the other counsellors he knew. In this case, better the devil you don't know.

Besides the lack of Benny, there was another reason this summer would feel bittersweet. This would be his brother Sam's last season as a camper. He had turned sixteen in May, the oldest age allowed in the camp. Counsellors-in-training could start from seventeen, which was what Dean had done and what Sam was planning to do, but that made it all the more official that Sam was growing up and would soon be an adult, making his own decisions and no doubt leaving South Dakota and Dean behind. Sure, Dean had left home first, determined to move into his own place once he'd turned eighteen, but he was still in the same town, and still ate dinner with his family at least twice a week. Sam had big dreams, and Dean was pretty sure that USD was not going to be the place to fulfil them.

Shaking off his maudlin thoughts, Dean grabbed his gear and opened the cabin door. He heard a noise from the counsellors' room and walked in to see an extremely nice ass as the man who was presumably his bunkmate bent over to put clothes into the lowest drawer. Dean admired it for a moment before calling out a greeting. Hannah's brother stood up and smiled.

'Oh hi. You must be Dean.'

_Damn_ , Dean thought as his eyes raked over the man, _there's the catch. I'm going to spend the summer popping inappropriate boners._ He was gorgeous, with dark, messy hair, big blue eyes and a disarming smile. He wore knee-length shorts and a light blue t-shirt that said Namaste; judging by the lean muscles in his arms and legs, he probably did yoga or Pilates or something. The seconds ticked by as Dean stared, and the other man's smile became more of a shy grin. On just the wrong side of awkward, Dean shook his head as if to loosen cobwebs and smiled back.

'Sorry, yeah, I'm Dean. You're Hannah's brother?'

'Yes, I'm Castiel.'

'Castiel? Seriously?'

'It's a long story.' It was now Castiel's turn to stare. Hannah had said that Dean was cute, but she had failed to mention that he was some kind of demi-god slash male model, and Castiel was suddenly, as the internet would say, _thirsty_.

Dean smirked. 'OK. So, top or bottom?'

'Top,' Castiel replied without thinking. Dean nodded and threw a bag onto the bottom bunk. 'Oh, you meant the bed. Bottom please.'

'Yeah, what'd you think I… oh.' Dean blushed. 'Damn, Cas.'

'Sorry, I was distracted.' He paused. 'You have a nice face.'

Dean burst out laughing. 'Thanks. You've got a pretty nice face too. I think your brain-to-mouth filter might be broken though.'

'It might not surprise you to hear that I've been told that before.'

'It's cool, brain-to-mouth filters are overrated. So… top eh?' he asked with a wink.

Castiel shrugged. 'I can go either way really, but you didn't include that option in your question. Obviously. Since you were talking about beds. Oh god. Please tell me to shut up.'

Dean slapped a hand on Castiel's shoulder. 'Wouldn't dream of it. So, Donna tells me you're going to grad school in the fall?'

Castiel looked relieved at the change in topic. 'Yes, I'll be starting a PhD in biochemistry at UW Madison after camp finishes in August.'

'Daaamn. Sexy _and_ smart, the complete package. And you've worked with kids before?'

'I volunteered for science outreach activities at the Science Museum of Minnesota when I was at U of M.'

Dean allowed himself another long look at Castiel, slowly raking his eyes up until they met Castiel's. 'Well it's nice to meet you, Cas. I think it's gonna be a good summer.' He winked again and unpacked, then climbed the ladder to put sheets on the top bunk.

Castiel gave up all pretence and just watched as Dean's t-shirt rode up to reveal a flat stomach and chiselled hip bones. 'Just out of curiosity, what are the rules about counsellors dating? Asking for a friend.'

'Don't let the campers catch you,' Dean replied, waggling his eyebrows. He hopped off the ladder and fixed his shirt. 'I've gotta go park my car in the staff lot, and then I was going to get some chow in the cafeteria. You comin' with?'

'Sure, let's go.' They walked out together, and Castiel gave a low whistle when he saw the car. 'Daaamn,' he said, imitating Dean's earlier statement. 'Sexy _and_ a cool car. I'm in trouble.'

They pulled up to the staff parking lot, and Castiel helped Dean cover the Impala with a tarp to keep off bird droppings and tree sap. When they got to the cafeteria, Donna informed them that more counsellors were checking in, and the all-staff meeting would take place at four. For now, they were the only two getting lunch, so they grabbed sandwiches, bags of chips, and cans of pop and sat down at one of the long tables.

'So, we'll have a one-week induction where all the staff get trained or re-trained in all the equipment and activities, and then the first set of campers will arrive next Sunday. There are four cabins for the kids who are staying the whole summer instead of just a one-week section, divided by age group and gender. The Bunker usually gets reserved for the oldest whole summer boys' group, because they generally have the most gear, and we've got the most space for them to keep their stuff. It's really cool, we get to know the kids pretty well. My brother Sam's going to be in our group.'

'That sounds nice. Hannah mentioned a welcome party?'

'Yeah, that's tonight. It can get kind of rowdy. Technically most of us aren't old enough to drink but, you know, someone usually manages to smuggle some beers in after Donna goes to bed. We're pretty sure she knows what goes on, but we always clean up really carefully anyway and don't let it get too crazy. Most of the nights of staff week end up being a bit of a party, but the last night is usually pretty tame so that we're not hungover and sloppy and when we meet the kids.'

'That sounds very reasonable. I'll definitely come along tonight then.'

'What kind of a bunkmate would I be if I let you miss it?' Dean said with a grin. 'Come on, looks like some other folks have just gotten here, let's go say hi.'

**********

Dean was true to his word and showed his bunkmate to the clearing where the festivities were taking place. Donna disappeared around nine, giving everyone a firm warning to be responsible. Castiel spent most of the party talking to all of his new co-workers, but never seemed to cross paths with Dean again. He couldn't prevent his eyes from seeking out his bunkmate, and quite a few times, smiling green eyes met his, but they seemed to be constantly across the clearing from each other. Hannah eventually came to see how he was doing, handing him a can of beer before cracking open her own. She chatted away at him, but he was barely listening; his attention had been caught by Dean, who was now sitting on one of the benches with an attractive brunette on his lap. She had her arms around his neck, but Castiel noticed that Dean's hands stayed firmly planted on the bench and he looked pretty uncomfortable.

'What's the deal there?' he asked Hannah when she stopped for breath.

'Oh god. That's Dean's ex, Lisa. They dated a couple of summers ago, and she tried this at last year's welcome party too. It didn't work then, and it doesn't look like Dean's any more into it now.'

'So, he dumped her?'

'Yeah, she didn't take it too well when he came out as bi, so he dropped her like a hot potato.'

'He's bi?' So it _had_ been a real flirtation. Interesting.

'Yeah. He escaped Lisa's clutches last year by hooking up with Cole.'

'Which one's Cole? I don't remember meeting him.'

'He hasn't come back this year. Things didn't end super well with him and Dean either. Poor guy, he has really bad taste. Cole was a dick.'

Castiel looked back over at Dean, who was still doing his best to politely decline Lisa's advances. She didn't seem to be taking no for an answer, so Castiel made a decision.

'I'm going to go rescue Dean,' he told Hannah, finishing his beer in a long swallow. 'Don't worry, I'm totally sober, but I'm going to pretend to be drunk to give him an excuse to help me back to the cabin.'

Hannah smiled. 'You're a knight in shining armour, Castiel. And I'm sure you have no ulterior motives for getting him back to your cabin,' she teased, poking him in the ribs with her elbow.

'I never claimed to be motivated by altruism,' he grinned, and stood up with an exaggerated wobble. Weaving slightly, he made his way over to Dean. 'Heeey, Dean! I'm kinda sleepy, can you tell me how to get back to our cabin?' he slurred. 'I think I had too much beer,' he added in a stage whisper.

'Sure Cas, why I don't I help you out? Sorry Lis, gotta help my bunkmate, he's new and I don't want him to get lost in the woods.' He all but pushed her off his lap and stood up, scooping an arm under Castiel's shoulders when he threatened to fall over. 'Come on fella, let's get you back.'

As soon as they were out of sight of the party, Castiel stood up straight. 'Phew, acting that drunk is kind of tiring.'

Dean looked at him with surprise. 'How are you suddenly sober as a judge?'

'Sorry, you looked like you needed rescuing, and I was kind of done with the party anyway, so I thought I'd give you an excuse to escape. You can always go back afterwards if you want, but at least your ex won't be on your lap anymore.'

'Ah. Hannah fill you in?'

'Yes, she said Lisa wasn't very accepting of your orientation.'

'Yeah, she pulled out all the usual crap about bi people being slutty or whatever. Came back last year and she was all apologetic, but I just wasn't interested anymore. She doesn't seem to have learned her lesson.'

'I'm sorry. I know the feeling, the last girlfriend I had was also not very understanding.'

'Misunderstood bi dudes unite!' Dean joked, offering his fist for Castiel to bump. 'Well, here we are. Bunker sweet bunker.' They stepped inside and went straight into their room without bothering to turn on the main light. Dean switched on the bedside lamp and kicked off his sandals.

'You can go back to the party if you want,' Castiel said, watching Dean take off his overshirt.

'Nah. Not really feelin' the party anymore.' He closed the distance between them, and without hesitation, pulled Castiel into a kiss. The latter melted into it, putting his hands on Dean's hips and opening his mouth to him. 'Been wanting to do that since you said hello.'

'Me too. You looked lickable.'

'I would like to think of myself as lickable,' Dean agreed, exposing his neck to Castiel's tongue.

'Mmm, you taste like campfire,' Castiel murmured. He grabbed Dean's t-shirt and pulled it up over his head, tossing it aside to get his mouth back to Dean's skin. He licked and kissed his way down Dean's chest and stomach, ending up on his knees tugging at the drawstring of Dean's boardshorts. He looked up for permission, and Dean nodded, curling his fingers into Castiel's hair. The shorts and boxer briefs came down together, pooling at Dean's ankles as Castiel ran his hand up Dean's cock. 'Lickable,' Castiel growled, and replaced his hand with his tongue, first running up the length of the shaft, and then circling around the head. When he finally took it all into his mouth, Dean shuddered with pleasure.

'Oh my god,' Dean gasped. 'That feels so good, Cas.' Castiel's head bobbed up and down, his moans telling of the pleasure he took from this. He pulled his own shorts down and started to stroke himself, but Dean tugged gently on his hair to get his attention. 'Save that for me.'

Castiel moaned again and moved both hands to Dean's hips, bracing himself as he took Dean deeper and deeper. Dean cried out a warning that Castiel ignored, swallowing until Dean began to go soft. 'Mmm. So good.'

'That was fuckin' amazing, Cas,' Dean assured him, stepping out of the clothes at his feet and joining Castiel on his knees. 'My turn.' He pulled off Castiel's shirt and lay it flat on the ground, then manoeuvred Castiel onto it while finishing the job of taking his shorts off. When his fingers wrapped around Castiel's cock, his hips bucked up into the touch.

'It's not going to take much,' Castiel warned him. 'Almost got off just from blowing you.' True to his word, Castiel came with just a few pumps of Dean's hand, leaving a mess and a slightly disappointed Dean. After cleaning them up with tissues, Dean grabbed a scrap of paper, scribbled a note on it, and handed it to Castiel. 'IOU one blow job,' Castiel read. 'Sounds good. I might need a few minutes.'

'No rush, it can wait until morning,' Dean replied, leaning over to kiss Castiel once more. 'I'd offer to cuddle, but I feel like I'm gonna crash any minute, and these beds are not exactly designed for two.'

'They're barely designed for one,' Castiel agreed. 'Sweet dreams, Dean.'

'Oh, they will be,' Dean assured him with a final goodnight kiss.

 

Castiel woke up the next morning to a loud thump as Dean hopped off the ladder from halfway up. 'Mornin' sunshine!' Dean called out as he stretched. Castel blinked several times to clear his vision, and realised that Dean was in fact naked.

'Um, good morning. You're very cheerful for-' he checked his phone for the time- 'eight a.m.'

'What can I say? I had a good night.' Dean sauntered over to the dresser completely unembarrassed and grabbed fresh boxers and shorts from a drawer. 'I'm gonna make some coffee on the hot plate, want any?'

'God yes. Wake me up when it's ready,' Castiel grumbled, and pulled the sheet over his head.

'Not a morning person. Got it,' Dean said with a grin. He opened the door and left it ajar as he prepared the coffee in an old-fashioned stovetop percolator, taking advantage of the long brew time to take care of his morning ablutions. Once the coffee was ready, he filled two mugs, loaded them onto a tray with a couple of spoons, powdered creamer, and sugar, and carried it back into the bedroom. 'Training kicks off at ten today, I think we're starting with archery and ropes. You won't be running those activities, but it's important for everyone to know the basic safety precautions of everything we do here.'

'Ten? You mean I could have slept for another hour and forty-five minutes?' Castiel complained, poking a messy bedhead out from his cocoon.

Dean laughed. 'Theoretically, but I kinda had plans for you this morning.' He waved the IOU, and Castiel blushed.

'Oh. OK. Um. I have to go to the bathroom.' He stumbled out of bed, nearly tripping over the tray and Dean, both of which were on the floor for lack of other space. He returned a few minutes later looking slightly more awake and with hair that he had tried to tame but succeeded only in making damp as well as messy. Sitting cross-legged against the bed, he added the creamer and sugar to his mug and drank the whole thing down in a long gulp.

'Refill?' Dean offered, filling up the mug that Castiel held out.

'Thank you, I needed that,' Castiel sighed as he finished the second cup. 'So, you were saying about plans?'

'A Winchester always pays his debts,' Dean said solemnly, moving the tray a safe distance away and closing the door again. He crawled over to Castiel on all fours and kissed him, but he soon found himself gently pushed back.

Castiel took a deep breath. 'I should probably tell you, I'm not normally a "meet a guy and give him a blow job a few hours later" type of person. I don't really do hook-ups or one-night stands.'

'Are you saying I was just too irresistible, Cas?' Dean asked with a cheeky grin.

'Yes,' Castiel replied bluntly.

'You were too. I'm not usually a one-night stand guy either.'

Castiel looked a bit crestfallen. 'Oh. So this was a one-night stand?'

'What? No. I mean, did you want it to be?'

'I said I don't do those.'

'So did I.'

'You said usually, so I thought you were implying-'

'No, that's not what I meant.'

'Me neither. No, I did mean that I don't do one-night stands, not that I didn't meant that I don't-' Dean cut him off.

'How about we start this conversation over? Hi, I'm Dean Winchester. I’m an Aquarius, I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach and getting fantastic blow jobs from hot blue-eyed dudes. Turn-offs are one-night stands and not getting more blow jobs from hot blue-eyed dudes.'

Castiel smiled, a wide, toothy smile that gave Dean a warm feeling all over. 'Hi, I'm Cas Novak. I'm a Virgo, I also enjoy sunsets and long walks on the beach, and I recently seem to have developed a fetish for green eyes and freckles. I'm also turned off by one-night stands and a lack of blow jobs.'

'Sounds like we're a match made in heaven, Cas,' Dean pronounced, planting light kisses on Castiel's lips. 'How about I deal with that IOU now?'

Castiel nodded, letting Dean pull down his shorts as he lay flat on the floor. Dean wasted no time with teasing, taking Castiel into his mouth and applying himself enthusiastically to his task. When Castiel was close, Dean popped his mouth off and climbed on top of him; he'd somehow managed to get his own shorts off while pleasuring Castiel, and he now took them both in hand while rutting their hips together. It didn't take long for either of them to finish.

'Jesus,' Castiel panted once Dean had rolled to the side. 'I'm very glad we clarified beforehand that we don't do one-night stands.'

'Why's that?'

'Because if I thought we'd only get to do that once, I'd be crying right now, and that would just be embarrassing.'

Dean laughed, grabbed napkins from the coffee tray and handed one to Castiel. 'So would I, dude. I'm also glad we agreed that it wasn't a one-night stand.'

'I wouldn't be opposed to it being quite a regular thing.'

'How regular?'

'As regular as we can possibly do it?'

'You have great ideas, Cas. I vote in favour. Now come on, let's hit the showers so we won't be late.'

**********

The week went quickly, with training activities during the day, and the promised parties in the evening. Dean was completely open about being with Castiel; not only did it keep Lisa off his back, it meant they could spend the parties next to each other and have a good excuse for heading back to their bunkhouse early. The bunks were definitely too small for them to sleep in together, but there was enough space for hot and heavy making out and getting each other off as frequently as possible. They knew that once the campers arrived, their opportunities would diminish substantially.

It wasn't all kissing and orgasms, though. They actually talked quite a lot, and Dean found that he genuinely enjoyed Castiel's company even when he was fully dressed; that sentiment was shared by the other counsellors, who loved his dry sense of humour and quirky personality. He made himself particularly popular with his ability to do cool stunts, like a hands-free backflip and walking on his hands. Unlike the last two seasons, Dean's closer friends on staff, like Charlie and Jody, actually approved of his summer romance, and he couldn't deny how nice that felt.

All too soon it was their last night before the arrival of the campers, and from his enthusiasm, Dean assumed that Castiel had set himself the challenge of seeing how many times he could make Dean come in one night. They didn't even bother going to the last party- from dinner to passing out with exhaustion, they were in each other's arms.

'Damn, Cas,' Dean panted as he tidied up the slight dribble that was his third orgasm. 'I honestly don't think my poor junk can take any more tonight.'

Cas stretched like a cat and grinned smugly. 'I wanted to build up a backlog to keep you going when the campers are here.'

'We can still do stuff when the campers are here, we just need to be quiet and preferably when they're out of the cabin,' Dean assured him.

'I know, but it won't be the same. I've enjoyed our time together.'

Dean pulled Castiel's head into the groove of his neck. 'Me too.'

**********

The campers had been around for ten days before Sam cornered Dean at lunch one day.

'So, anything you want to tell me?' Sam asked.

Dean eyed him suspiciously. 'Like what?'

'Like how apparently you haven't learned your lesson from the last two summers?' Sam replied, his eyes flicking over to Castiel before returning to Dean.

'Cas isn't like that.'

'Like what?'

'Like Lisa and Cole. He's nice, really nice. He's bi too, so he understands the shit we get from people. He's got all these crazy hobbies, like beekeeping and yoga. And he's smart, he's going to start a PhD in some kind of science thing. Seriously, he's awesome, it's different.'

'You thought Lisa and Cole were awesome at the time.'

'Yeah, but nobody else did. Everybody on staff loves Cas.'

'OK, but be careful. Do you want me to give him the brother talk?'

'What's the brother talk?'

'The one where I tell him if he hurts you I'll kill him.'

Dean rolled his eyes. 'No. Anyway, he won't believe you, you may be tall but you're a stick insect. He does yoga, he's wicked strong. Watch this. Hey Cas!' he shouted across the room. 'Show us your hand walking!'

Castiel smiled, flipped easily into a handstand, walked his way over to Dean and Sam, and flipped back to his feet. The campers cheered, and he bowed extravagantly to thank them. Dean smirked at Sam, who looked suitably impressed.

'Wow Cas, that's cool! So Dean says you do yoga?'

'Every day.'

'Have you thought about teaching it here? I'd totally take a class.'

'You would, you big hippie,' Dean interjected, giving his brother a teasing shove.

'That's an interesting idea, Sam. I'll ask Donna about it. Thanks.' Castiel gave Dean a gentle squeeze on the shoulder and went back to his table. Dean forced himself not to watch him.

'See? He's cool.'

'I'll reserve judgement for now,' Sam said.

'Hey, we're not being super obvious are we? We're trying to keep it on the DL in front of the campers.'

'No, I don't think anybody else has picked up on it. I just know you, Dean.'

'OK, well, let me know if it starts to be noticeable. I don't want to cause any problems for Donna in case any of the kids' parents are homophobic assholes.'

'Yeah, no problem. So you really like him, huh?'

'Yeah, I do.'

'And what happens after the summer?'

Dean shrugged. 'He's going to be a good six or seven hour drive away, surrounded by smart college people a million times better than me, so it's kinda hard to see it going past camp. But I hope we'll at least stay friends.'

After lunch, Dean and Castiel took their campers to the archery range for their safety briefing and first lesson. They left them in the capable hands of Hayley and Shane, the specialist counsellors for this activity, looking forward to a free hour. They began walking back to the cabin at a leisurely pace until they were out of sight of the campers; then Dean looked at Castiel, raised an eyebrow, and started running. Castiel caught up with him easily and beat him to the door, slipping inside and going straight to their room.

By the time Dean arrived, Castiel was already shirtless and unbuttoning his shorts. Dean locked the door and hastily removed his clothes, just in time for Castiel to grab him by the waist and pull him into a hungry kiss. Dean's hands wandered down, grabbing Castiel's ass to make him grind harder against his own hips and eliciting a quiet moan.

'Will we ever have more than an hour here and there during camp?' Castiel asked breathlessly as Dean sucked on his earlobe.

'The last weekend of July is free,' Dean panted. 'The all-summer campers get taken out on a long hiking, canoeing and tent camping trip by Donna and the week-camp counsellors to give the rest of us a break.'

'I'll be counting the days,' Castiel said as he dropped to his knees and took Dean's cock into his mouth.

'Fuck me, that feels good,' Dean moaned.

Castiel stopped sucking briefly to say, 'That sounds like a plan for July. We could go to a hotel.' He resumed his activities, not noticing Dean's eyes widen.

'Oh, um, yeah, I…' Dean stammered, sounding so flustered that Castiel stopped again.

'Are you OK, Dean?'

'Yeah, fine, you just surprised me.'

'You're surprised that I want to fuck you? I thought it was obvious.'

'No, no, it's just, uh, I… I haven't done that before.'

Castiel sprang to his feet. 'Oh god, Dean, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.'

'I know. Like I said, just surprised me.' He pulled Castiel in for a kiss. 'Not saying I don't want to,' he whispered against Castiel's lips. His hand drifted down Castiel's stomach, wrapping around both of them and stroking fast. Castiel claimed his mouth again, driving his tongue into Dean's mouth as he thrust into Dean's hand. Dean came first, and his come acted as enough lubrication to bring Castiel tumbling after.

They continued kissing for a few minutes longer, until the alarm Castiel had set warned them that it was time to hit the showers.

That night, long after lights out, Dean and Castiel lay alternating between quietly making out and talking in the bottom bunk as had become their habit since the arrival of the campers. Castiel was telling Dean about his hopes for his PhD studies when he paused for so long that Dean thought he'd drifted off. He was about to slide out to get back into his own bunk when Castiel spoke again.

'Dean,' he began nervously. 'Do you think… maybe after the summer, would you… want to still see each other?'

'Well, yeah, duh, Cas. I definitely want to keep in touch.'

'No, I mean… like this. Like maybe date?'

Dean's head popped up in surprise. 'You want to date me? After the summer?'

'Of course. I really like you.'

'I like you too,' Dean confessed. 'But we'll be pretty far apart.'

'I know long distance is hard, but we could probably still see each other every few weeks. And there's FaceTime and Skype so we can still see each other in between.'

'Yeah, but… me?'

'Why do you sound so surprised?'

'I don't know, I guess I just never… my past camp romances have never exactly gone beyond leaving day, you know?'

'That's because your past camp romances were with idiots,' Castiel said bluntly.

Dean snorted. 'Can't disagree with that. But-'

Castiel cut him off. 'I don't want to pressure you into answering right away, I just wanted to let you know that it was on my mind. Will you at least think about it?'

'Yeah, OK, I'll definitely think about it.'


	2. Chapter 2

Dean thought about it a lot over the next few days. Once he had gotten over the shock of someone like Castiel wanting to be with someone like him outside of the camp bubble, he considered exactly what that would mean. Being Dean, the first thing he thought was _no sex for weeks at a time between visits_ , but on the upside, sex with Castiel was so satisfying that he could see it getting him through the dry spells; plus, video chatting created all sorts of interesting possibilities for getting each other off between times. He considered whether he liked Castiel enough to keep going after camp, and he was almost taken aback at how immediately and resoundingly his brain screamed _YES!_ He'd never met anyone like Cas, and if anyone was worth the effort of an actual relationship, he was.

The big thing it came down to was this: was Dean willing to suffer the inevitable heartbreak when Castiel realised that he was surrounded by smart, attractive co-eds and stopped wanting to waste his time with a dumb grease monkey? Again Dean's brain surprised him by insistently saying _Yes, he's worth it_ to all the questions he came up with. It was a new feeling and freaked him out a bit; deciding that he needed unbiased advice after two days of stewing inside his own brain, he grabbed Charlie at breakfast.

'So what's so urgent that you need to talk about it before eating?' she asked him with a concerned frown.

'Cas asked me if I wanted to date him after camp,' he whispered.

'OMG squee!' she said, pulling him into a hug. 'That's adorable! You said yes, right?'

'I haven't answered yet. I'm not sure what to do.'

Charlie gave him a playful shove. 'Are you kidding me, Winchester? You're super into each other, why wouldn't you do it?'

'He's going to be in Wisconsin! We won't be able to see each other very often, and he's going to have all those college people there. How can it possibly work?'

'Dean,' Charlie said seriously, grabbing his shoulders with both hands. 'Cas likes you a lot. He wouldn't have asked you if he didn't. People make long distance work all the time. Hell, most of my relationships have been at least partly online. There is a _lot_ you can do with Skype and a Bluetooth vibrator, let me tell you.'

'Uh, OK, A: TMI and B: those aren't for dudes.'

Charlie laughed and patted his cheek. 'Oh, you poor sheltered boy.' Ignoring Dean's wide eyes and bright red blush, she continued. 'Look, of course it's up to you, but I've never seen you like this with anybody. I think you should go for it. What's the worst that could happen?'

'Um, I don't know, I could get my heart broken, lose all faith in humanity, and become a hermit who threatens kids on his lawn with a shotgun?'

'That was oddly specific. Come on, Dean. Cas is special, and you guys are great together. You do like him, right?'

Dean sighed. 'Yeah, I do. I like him a lot. If he lived closer to me I wouldn’t think twice.'

'Then I say take a chance, and if it doesn't work out, at least you know you tried.'

'Maybe. But just… what if we don't even make it to the end of the summer? I'm kind of nervous about jinxing it by saying yes now and then he gets bored with me by August.'

'Well, I don't think that's going to happen, but maybe you can compromise. Like, say that if he still feels that way at the end camp, you can talk about the long-distance thing again?'

'Yeah,' Dean said with a bit more confidence. 'Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks Charlie.'

'Always happy to help! Now come on, I'm starving.'

 

Dean didn't have a chance to be alone with Castiel again until evening, when they set the Bunker campers to starting a fire and making s'mores. With the boys all distracted, Dean pulled Castiel around the corner of the cabin and gave him a quick kiss.

'So I've been thinking about what you asked me,' he whispered, butterflies taking flight in his stomach, 'and assuming you can still stand me after the next eight weeks, then we can talk about doing the long-distance thing.' The smile on Castiel's face soothed all of his nerves.

'It's a deal,' Castiel replied, throwing his arms around Dean's neck. 'It'll be great, I promise,' he murmured into his neck, planting kisses along the sensitive skin. 'You know what else will be great? Our little road trip in July.'

'Oh yeah? Why's that?' Dean whispered, trying to keep control.

'Because I'm going to fuck you so good you'll forget your own name.'

A shudder of pleasure and anticipation ran through Dean's body, and his khaki shorts did nothing to hide the effect Castiel had on him. 'Fuck, Cas, you can't just say shit like that. I can't go back out there like this!'

'I'll make it up to you later,' Castiel promised, and left Dean to think about unsexy things until he was sufficiently composed to rejoin the group.

Castiel made it up to him later.

**********

Dean didn't understand how time could move too slowly and too quickly at the same time. Five weeks of camp seemed to go by in a flash, but each day almost seemed to crawl as he wished away the time until he could be with Castiel. They continued to spend at least a few minutes each night in the bottom bunk just whispering and kissing, usually not wanting to risk anything more with a dozen campers on the other side of the door. It was Dean's favourite part of the day, and some days it felt like the minutes ticked on at half speed until Castiel was in his arms again.

More than that, though, Dean looked forward to their free weekend. He had suggested just going back to his apartment in Sioux Falls to save money, but Castiel didn't want to be interrupted by any visitors who noticed the Impala back in the driveway.

Instead, when they were released from duty on Friday afternoon, they drove until they found a reasonable looking motel with vacancies, paid for two nights, and dropped off their bags before going into town. Dean went to pick up some dinner at an appealing-looking diner called The Roadhouse, while Castiel went to the supermarket to buy some booze, snacks, and somewhat more intimate supplies. They met back at the Impala, sitting on the hood to eat their surprisingly good burgers and fries under the setting sun.

Once back at the aptly-named Lakeview Motel, the atmosphere seemed to change; expectation hung in the air, and Castiel could almost feel Dean's nervousness as a palpable object between them. Stepping through it, he took Dean in his arms.

'Dean,' he whispered. 'It's fine if you just want to do the usual stuff. Or nothing at all. I'm just happy to be here with you, just the two of us.'

Dean relaxed, letting out a held breath. 'Me too, Cas. I'm just worked up because I'm nervous and I want you so bad.' Raising a slightly shaky hand, he cupped Castiel's face and leaned in for a kiss that quickly went from tender to passionate to frantic. Clothes went flying, hands went wandering, and before they knew it they were naked on the bed, Dean on his back and Castiel above, their bodies coming together as they hadn't been able to do since before the campers had arrived.

'Dean, please fuck me,' Castiel begged between hungry kisses.

'I seem to remember you said you were a top, Cas,' Dean teased. Castiel pulled his head back and looked at Dean earnestly.

'Only when you're ready, and if you're never ready, that's OK. I just want to be with you, and I'd be more than happy to have you inside me.'

'Damn, Cas,' Dean moaned, claiming his mouth again. 'You tryin' to kill me?'

'That would be counterproductive.' Castiel moved down Dean's body, enjoying that he could take his time, kiss and lick and nibble every inch of Dean's skin, and revel in Dean's warm body writhing beneath him, responding to his touch with the most delicious sounds. By the time he took Dean into his mouth, they were both skating along the edge of control.

'If you want me to come anywhere but your mouth, you're going to have to stop that,' Dean warned.

'We have plenty of time,' Castiel replied before taking a final plunge that had Dean coming down his throat in seconds. 'I don't think I'll ever get tired of that,' Castiel added as he flopped onto his back next to Dean.

'Me neither. My turn.' As usual, Castiel was so turned on by going down on Dean that it didn't take much effort to get him off as well. Dean kissed his way back up Cas's body before lying on his side, propped up on an elbow so he could look at Castiel. 'So, uh, I was just wondering… what we're gonna do later. How much have you done that?'

'How do you mean?'

'You know, just like, how experienced are you at it?'

'Somewhat experienced, I guess. I've topped and bottomed, and I've had a few partners.'

'How many?'

'Why do you want to know?'

'Just wanna know what my competition is.'

'You don't have any competition, Dean. I'm here with you, not with them. Do you really want to go into full sexual histories right now?'

'Yeah, kinda.'

'Why?'

'Because you're the first guy I'm doing this with, and this may be our only chance to do it. I want to know what it's been like for you before, so I can make sure this will be the best time, and you won't forget me when you're a big-time grad student.' Dean tried to keep his usual playful, cocky tone, but he feared that more emotion had made it through than he intended.

'Only chance? Why-' Castiel frowned. 'Oh. I see.' He got up from the bed and put his boxers and shorts back on. 'Maybe we should rethink this then.'

Dean was confused. Was it really that offensive to ask about past partners? He thought they were close enough to talk about that kind of thing. 'Why's that?'

'Look, Dean… yes, in college I had a few hook-ups that were just meaningless sex with people I never spoke to again, but that wasn't what I wanted from you. I thought we'd already decided otherwise, but if you really only want a summer fling, I think I'd prefer to just stick with what we've been doing and not get more intimate.'

'Cas, I'm just trying to be realistic. Who knows how often we'd get to see each other, we're gonna be over 400 miles apart after the summer. You're gonna be a hotshot grad student doing smart stuff with smart people, and I'm just a grease monkey.'

'So?'

'So? Are you kidding me? I may not be a fancy college boy, but I'm not quite stupid enough to think that a guy like you would be interested in a guy like me for long.'

'What the hell is that supposed to mean? What do you think the last month and a half has been?'  

'Super hot and really fun, which are about the only two things I have to offer.'

Castiel's eyes narrowed and his head tilted questioningly. 'Is that self-deprecation, or are you telling me that you're only interested in me for sex?'

'No, I'm saying I understand if _you're_ only interested in _me_ for sex.'

It would have been difficult to label the expressions that flitted across Castiel's face in quick succession, but he ultimately settled on hurt confusion. 'You really think so little of me?'

'What? I think you're awesome,' Dean assured him.

'And yet you think I'd use you for sex and discard you without a second thought?'

'Naw man, I mean, I figured maybe we'd get to the end of summer and we'd decide to just stay friends after all. Or maybe we'd try the long-distance thing for a little while, but there's like 40,000 people at Madison, and probably all of 'em are gonna be better than me. I wouldn't expect you to sit around thinking about me.'

Comprehension dawned on Castiel's face. 'Oh Dean. You're a dumbass.'

Dean shrugged. 'That's what I've been sayin'.' Castiel didn't have to be quite so blunt about it, but hey, at least they were finally on the same page.

'No. You're a dumbass if you think this is meaningless sex and I want nothing more from you than friendship.' Castiel took his shorts and boxers off again and got back into the bed to cuddle against Dean. 'I've had sex with ten people. Seven were women, including my first, and three of them were one-night stands when I was a freshman in college. One of the men was also a one-night stand, and the reason I don't do them anymore. It was a bad experience and put me off bottoming for a long time. My first actual boyfriend helped me get over that, but with him and my next boyfriend I still preferred topping. That said, I've only done anal about a dozen times over the last few years, because the relationships didn't really last that long. I've been tested since my last partner and I'm clean. Do you have any specific questions beyond that?'

'OK, I'm kinda lost here. How did we get back to that from me being a dumbass?'

'I like you. I don't want just a summer fling, and you're a dumbass because you think you're not good enough for me. That isn't true at all, and I don't care how many people are at Madison, because none of them are you and it's you I want. I also want to have lots of hot sexy sex with you now, and you wanted to talk about sexual histories first, so I told you mine. Got it?'

Dean was dumbfounded. Despite all of Castiel's assurances, he still couldn't quite believe that Cas _liked_ liked him, he just couldn't be that lucky, so he decided to focus on the hot sexy sex bit instead. 'Oh. Um, yeah, ok,' he stuttered, licking his lips nervously. 'Um, yeah, so I've slept with like five girls, only two one-night stands, but they weren't all exactly long-term relationships either. I've messed around with three guys plus you. I'm in favour of hot sexy sex now.'

'Good.' Castiel kissed him, and that filled up the next few minutes very nicely. 'How do you want me?' he murmured in Dean's ear.

'Inside me,' Dean replied boldly.

Castiel pulled back, stunned. 'Are you sure?'

'So sure. Been fantasising about it for weeks. Hell, why lie? Been fantasising about it since you didn't realise I was asking about the bunk.'

Castiel blushed. 'I still can't believe I did that.'

'I'm glad you did. Who knows how long it would have taken for me to figure out you were interested if you hadn't? Although, you did look at me the way I look at pie, so maybe I would have figured it out,' Dean smirked.

'Hey, you weren't exactly subtle about checking me out either,' Castiel teased, playfully smacking the side of Dean's hip.

'You were bent over displaying that fine ass when I walked in the door, what else could I have done?'

'It is quite exceptional,' Castiel admitted. 'You should definitely hit that.'

'I will,' Dean promised. 'We've got all weekend.' He tried to kiss Castiel again, but the latter pushed back and looked down at Dean earnestly.

'I mean it about being more than a summer fling, Dean. Please believe me.'

'Course I do, Cas. We'll figure it out.'

Castiel smiled so brightly that Dean felt a little guilty about being less than truthful. He was sure that Castiel was sincere in _thinking_ that he'd like something more with Dean; the magic of camp always made everything feel shiny and exciting, and Dean wasn't unaware of how good he looked in shorts. But he was also sure that a week or two on a college campus would no doubt remind Castiel of all the better options out there, so Dean wasn't exactly going to hold his breath for a long-term romance. _This_ was what they had, and _this_ was pretty damn good, so he was going to grab it with both hands while he had it- a philosophy he also applied to Cas's ass.

It was a bit soon for them to be hard again, but neither of them had any complaints about naked making out for the half hour required to get their dicks back in action. Castiel rolled Dean onto his back and reached for the nightstand where he'd set the lube and condoms. Kissing his way down, he settled between Dean's legs and squeezed a generous dollop of lube on two fingers. Dean watched, mesmerised, as Castiel's hand disappeared into the gap between Dean's legs; he couldn’t contain a gasp when Castiel's finger gently nudged at his rim.

'Relax,' Castiel coaxed him, continuing his gentle ministrations without trying to go any further. Dean took in a deep breath, and then exhaled while trying to loosen all of his muscles. Castiel chose that moment to slide his index finger in. 'Is that OK?'

Dean nodded, forcing himself not to clamp down on the strange-feeling but not unwelcome intrusion. Castiel gently moved the finger around, searching for Dean's prostate; when he found it, Dean's hips shot up off the bed, and Castiel couldn't help but chuckle.

'I take it you haven't done that before?' he asked, never stopping the motion of his finger and occasionally brushing past the spot again.

Dean shook his head. 'Never had anything there. Feels amazing.'

Castiel hummed in agreement and withdrew the finger, only to quickly replace it with two and simultaneously lick up the length of Dean's cock. Castiel swirled his tongue around the head before taking it between his lips; as his fingers worked to open Dean up, his mouth worked him to a frenzy. Trembling fingers found their way to Castiel's hair and took a loose grip of already-messy strands.

'Fuck, Cas,' Dean panted. 'So good. Don't stop.'

As if to disparage the very notion of stopping, Castiel added a third finger to proceedings, surprising Dean with the slight burn and stretch; the discomfort passed quickly as Castiel moved gently within him. Just when Dean thought he couldn't take anymore, Castiel withdrew his hand and wiped it off with a tissue. He ripped open the condom he'd set aside earlier and rolled it on, adding another generous quantity of lube to the latex.

'Are you ready?' he asked as he pushed Dean's legs back and lined himself up.

'Hell yeah,' Dean said enthusiastically. Castiel pushed in slowly, giving Dean plenty of time to adjust to the feeling before finally bottoming out. 'Oh my god,' Dean moaned.

'I agree,' Castiel replied, leaning down for a kiss. Dean wrapped his arms around Castiel's neck and deepened the kiss into an open-mouthed, almost frantic affair that became sloppier as Castiel began to move his hips. Dean wrapped his legs around Castiel's waist to encourage a faster rhythm. Eventually kissing became impossible, so Castiel pushed himself up onto his knees for better leverage. The change of angle let him nail Dean's prostate with every thrust, and it wasn't long before Dean came without a single touch to his cock. It was hard to tell who was more surprised by that, but it was definitely Castiel who felt more smug; he was still grinning when he came a minute later.

'Holy shit,' Dean said once Castiel had pulled out and was lying on his back beside him. 'That was… wow.'

'Definitely.'

'Was it… for you… like, did I do OK?'

'Dean, that was the most wonderful sexual experience of my life.'

'Yeah?' Dean asked with a smile, turning to look at Castiel as if to judge the sincerity of his expression.

'Yeah. You did great. God, you felt so good.'

'For me too. It was awesome.'

'I bet you'll like it the other way around too,' Castiel said suggestively. 'We should definitely try that tomorrow.'

'So, we're pretty much just going to spend this whole weekend fucking with occasional food breaks, right?'

'That was my plan. I only brought one spare set of clothes for when we go back. Otherwise I intend to be naked.'

Dean laughed. 'Then we should probably put up the do not disturb sign, or we'll be giving the maid an eyeful tomorrow.'

The slight flaw in Castiel's clothing plan was that he had only bought junk food for eating in the room, so when it came time for breakfast he had to make do with what he'd worn the day before. They again went to The Roadhouse, which was conveniently located around the corner from the motel, and ordered a second breakfast to go that they could heat up in the room's microwave the next morning. After returning to the room and relaxing in front of the TV for a couple of hours, Castiel suddenly stood up and started stripping.

'What's up, Cas?' Dean asked with one eye still on Scooby Doo. 'Going for another shower?'

Castiel shook his head. 'It's your turn.' He grabbed the lube and lay back down on the bed. Without waiting for Dean to respond, he started to open himself up.

'Holy shit,' Dean rasped as two fingers disappeared into Castiel. 'I gotta get naked.' He quickly switched off the TV, pulled off the offending garments and positioned himself next to Castiel again. One of his slick fingers joined Castiel's two, and his deep moan indicated his approval of this turn of events.

'Dean, I need you,' Castiel gasped when he pulled out his fingers, so Dean took his out as well and reached to the nightstand for a condom; Castiel grabbed his wrist. 'You don't have to use one.'

'Are you sure?'

'Want to feel you.'

There was no arguing with that, so Dean changed course to grab the lube instead and slicked himself up. He mimicked Castiel's actions from the night before, entering slowly until his thighs were against Castiel's ass. 'Oh my god,' he whispered against Castiel's ear. 'Feels awesome. You doing OK?'

'It's so good,' Castiel assured him, and rolled his hips to encourage Dean to move. He started with a slow rhythm, enjoying the new sensations and the delicious noises Castiel was making, but when he pushed back onto his knees to get better leverage against Castiel's bent legs, the pace began to speed up. Castiel took himself in hand as Dean pounded into him, and soon he was crying out, coming on his stomach and clamping around Dean's cock.

'Fuck, Cas, I'm gonna come soon!' Dean warned.

Castiel locked his legs around Dean's waist. 'Come inside me, Dean, I want it.'

Like a soldier obeying an order, Dean drove one final thrust into Cas, head thrown back as he moaned a mix of Cas's name and explicit swearing. He let himself fall forward onto his elbows to kiss Cas through the aftershocks.

Once they were cleaned up and cuddling under the sheet, Dean cleared his throat. 'So, uh, was that OK?'

'It was wonderful, Dean. Did you enjoy it?'

'Yeah, it was awesome! But, uh…'

'What is it?'

'I think I kinda prefer the other way around, if that’s OK? I mean, it was really good and everything, and I definitely wouldn't mind doing this sometimes, but I just _really_ liked, you know…'

'Dean,' Castiel interrupted, rolling on top of him and raising an eyebrow. 'We resolved this question in our first conversation, remember? I think our preferences match up very nicely.'

Dean laughed. 'Yeah, I guess so.'

'Good. Now let's get some sleep.'

The next day was Sunday, but they didn't need to be back at the camp until five in the evening, so they called the front desk to request a late checkout and went another round after breakfast. Dean was able to confirm that he did indeed prefer to bottom, at least when it was Cas doing the honours. A lazy joint shower followed, and it was mid-afternoon before they finally started their way back, via another diner for a late lunch.

They pulled into the parking lot a little after four and got Baby covered again. Charlie pulled up in her bright yellow Gremlin just as they were finishing and waved brightly at them. 'Sup bitches! Enjoy your weekend?' Dean could feel himself blushing as he smiled and looked over at Castiel to see that he had a very smug grin tugging at his lips. 'Well, I guess I know what you guys spent all weekend doing. I totally do _not_ need details of your man love, by the way, just in case you feel tempted to share,' she teased.

'It's a natural and beautiful act, Charlie,' Dean replied, his smile belying the earnest tone he'd tried to use.

'Sure, sure. Hey, I'll make you a deal- you keep your wang talk to yourself, and I won't mention how you seem extra bowlegged tonight.' With that, Charlie gave Dean a playful shove and ran off before he could retaliate.

**********

Dean felt like the last few weeks of camp flew by faster than ever before. Rather than getting bored with him, Castiel seemed more into him than ever, and would talk excitedly about things he wanted them to do together when Castiel went to Sioux Falls, or Dean came to Madison. Castiel was going to be sharing an apartment with his brother, who was an adjunct professor at UW, and apparently said brother knew all the best places to go in town. As Cas talked about the bars, museums and parks they could go to, Dean let himself get swept up in the dream; maybe they could make this work after all. Maybe Cas really did want him like that.

Before he knew it, leaving day had arrived. They finally waved goodbye to the last of the campers around lunchtime, and the counsellors all headed back to the cafeteria for lunch, debriefing, and instructions on the end of season takedown. Staff would stay on for another two days to clean and close everything up for the winter. A few of the cabins hosted events year-round, but the ones that were only useable in the summer would be sealed up along with the summer-only facilities. That night would be the last counsellor party, as everyone would be saying their goodbyes the following afternoon.

The Bunker would be staying open, so Dean and Castiel had to clean it from top to bottom- not an easy feat after a summer's habitation by twelve teenage boys. The sun was starting to set by the time they finished, and dusk was definitely settling when Donna came by to do the final checks.

'Lookin' great boys,' she said with her usual bright smile. 'You're free to go to the party whenever you want. Tomorrow you can help store up all the lakeside stuff before you head out.'

After a shared shower to clean off the sweat and grime from the day, they got dressed and sauntered towards the usual party clearing in no particular hurry. Their mood was subdued- they hadn't yet discussed how the logistics were going to work in their long-distance plan, didn't even know when they would see each other again after tomorrow, and Dean's insecurities began to eat away at him.

'So when do you have to be on campus?' he asked, kicking at a pebble.

'I told Gabe I'd arrive next Friday. That gives me the weekend to get settled in before classes start on the following Monday.'

'So you've got six days to do a six and a half hour drive?'

'I figured I would just stay in Omaha until Friday morning,' Castiel shrugged.

'Come to Sioux Falls,' Dean said quickly, and instantly felt guilty. Cas would probably want to spend that time with his family, and Dean was being selfish. He looked up at Cas to apologise, but the smile on Cas's face stopped him.

'I'd love to. I have to talk to Hannah to work out exact plans, but yes, I want to come.'

'OK. Cool. That's good. Awesome,' Dean babbled. Castiel just smiled and took his hand.

They didn't stay at the party long; the siren song of the empty Bunker all to themselves was too strong to resist. After an enthusiastic hour of what Donna would call hanky-panky, they pushed together two of the twin beds to allow them to finally sleep next to each other for the first time since their motel weekend. Knowing that he'd get to spend at least a bit more time with Cas before he left for grad school made Dean able to enjoy this last night of camp to the fullest; no matter what happened afterwards, this wouldn't be their last night together, and there was no bitter edge to the sweetness of falling asleep in Castiel's arms.

**********

Dean had hoped that Castiel would come straight to Sioux Falls with him before heading out to Wisconsin, but unfortunately, he and Hannah had shared the car, and he had to take her home to Omaha, where their parents lived. Instead, Castiel promised to pack up his belongings as quickly as possible and stay with Dean for two days before continuing his drive to Madison. Dean spent the few days between getting home and Castiel's visit cleaning the apartment, and even bought and washed a couple of new sets of sheets. When Cas texted to say he was leaving Omaha, Dean started preparing dinner, his mom's secret recipe lasagne. The doorbell rang just as he was putting garlic bread into the oven.

Castiel didn't even bother to say anything when Dean opened the door and ushered him in; he just dropped his backpack on the floor and pulled Dean into a hungry kiss. Dean wasn't about to complain and grabbed his ass to get him closer. Things were just starting to get interesting when the oven timer went off.

'Hi Cas,' Dean said when he finally managed to pull away from Castiel's lips.

'Hello, Dean. I missed you.'

'Did you? I couldn't tell.' That got him a playful slap on the ass. 'You hungry?' he asked, turning off the oven and pulling out the casserole dish and baking sheet. 'I made lasagne and garlic bread.'

'Sounds amazing. Counter offer: sex now, food later.'

Dean sighed and shook his head. 'You drive a hard bargain, Cas, but you've made me an offer I can't refuse. Come on.'

Dinner ended up being quite a bit later.


	3. Chapter 3

As he watched Castiel drive away, Dean let a single man tear slip down his face. He was pretty sure that the past two days had been the best of his life. It had felt so right having Cas there, in his home, being all domestic, helping him cook, sleeping in his big memory foam bed. It didn't have the slightly sleazy feel of their dirty weekend at the motel, despite things having gotten very dirty indeed. It had simply felt like they were a couple living together and just being happy. Dean had let himself sink completely into the fantasy, and he could honestly say that he'd never been happier in his life.

But now Cas was gone, the house was empty, and reality was creeping back in: Castiel would be living six and a half hours away. Although Bobby let him take the whole summer off for camp as a personal favour to Donna, to make up for it Dean had always worked six days a week most of the rest of the year. He was sure Bobby would let him have a couple of weekends off if he needed it, but the truth was that Dean's opportunities to go to Madison would be few and far between. And for all that Castiel talked about coming to Sioux Falls regularly, Dean was pretty sure that a science PhD was going to involve long hours, working weekends, and if that didn't keep Castiel away, the parties and clubs and people certainly would.

As he had promised, Castiel called Dean as soon as he arrived at Gabe's house, and for the first two weeks they had a Skype chat almost every day. The third week, Castiel had to cancel or delay the calls a couple of times because of events in his department, but they still talked four days out of seven and texted constantly. The fourth week was busier still, and by the end of September, they were down to two Skype chats a week as Castiel was forced to spend more evenings studying due to his busy days as a TA for undergrad classes in addition to his own coursework.

He didn't mention much in the way of socialising, but Dean wasn't surprised by that. Of course Cas wouldn't tell him about the times he chose to go out and party instead of having a stupid video chat with his stupid grease monkey boyfriend. They usually talked very briefly on Wednesday nights, and then at greater length on Saturdays, but always late in the afternoon once Dean was back from work and had showered off the grease from the day; perfectly timed for after Cas would have been recovered from a Friday-induced hangover, but before it was time to go out again Saturday.

The more he thought about it, the more that reasoning made sense. Sure, during the week Cas had to study, and Dean didn't doubt that Cas was diligent in his studies. But who studies on a Friday or Saturday night? No, the only explanation was that he was going out, having fun, and the Saturday Skype chats were no doubt becoming a tedious chore that he had to slog through. There hadn't even yet been a mention of when they might have another visit, and again Dean wasn't surprised that it had fallen off Castiel's radar completely. At this point he wasn't even sure why Castiel was still stringing him along with multiple text messages a day and the twice-weekly video call. Why not just drop him and be done with it?

A few too many beers on another lonely Saturday night gave Dean perfect clarity on the answer. After all the fuss he'd made about wanting the long-distance thing to work and how much he cared about Dean, Castiel must be too proud to admit that he'd been wrong. He had sworn up and down that he wouldn't be interested in other people, had promised Dean that they could make it work, so he wasn't going to be the one to back down. Dean sighed as he finished his beer and poured himself a shot of bourbon instead. It would be up to him, then. The question was how to do it? Definitely not by text, that was shitty as hell, and it just felt cowardly to do it over Skype or the phone.

A surprise visit. That was the ticket. He'd heard the horror stories of boyfriends or girlfriends left behind who paid a surprise visit to their significant other's college campus only to walk in on shenanigans. He told himself that he'd much rather go out in a blaze of a glory than a sad whimper, with the calls and texts becoming less frequent until they stopped completely and Castiel just ghosted out of his life. There- the decision was made. He took Friday and Saturday off work and booked a motel room for two nights near the UW campus.

He figured it would go down something like this: he'd go to Cas's place, catch him with his pants down as some saucy co-ed gave him a substandard blow job, they'd have a big fight and break up, and Dean would head to a bar near his motel to get horrifically drunk. Maybe he'd even break his one-night stand rule and have some angry revenge/rebound sex, spend all of Saturday hungover, and drive home Sunday single and ready to mingle. The bile that rose up in his throat at the thought was probably just his brain imagining the hangover he was going to have.

Friday morning, Dean packed a duffle bag with some clothes, toiletries, a bottle of whisky (who knew how much college bars charged, better to have something he could drink in the room just in case), condoms and lube (in case he went for that revenge/rebound sex, better to be prepared), and his phone charger, and hit the road around eleven. He stopped for a late lunch at a diner a third of the way along and drove hard to find himself pulling into the motel parking lot at six that evening. He showered and dressed in tight jeans and a dark red button-down, splashing a bit of cologne and leaving his three-day stubble in place. Satisfied with what he saw in the mirror, he got back into the Impala and drove to Cas's apartment. Dean knew that Castiel shared it with his brother Gabe but he'd never met the guy. Probably another tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed sex god. Now _that_ would be revenge- no, Dean cut himself off from that thought. He wasn't a _total_ asshole after all.

He pulled into a guest space and took a deep breath, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Suddenly this seemed like a terrible idea. He didn't want to see Castiel getting a substandard blow job; he didn't even want to think about it. Seeing it would be so much worse. Oh god. He should just turn around and drive right back home and pretend this never happened.

No, he had to see it through. Better to find out sooner than later, when he felt more, when it would hurt more. It was already going to hurt like hell, he realised that now. Putting it off would only make it worse. Steeling himself, he stepped out, locked the door, and walked up to the apartment. He knocked firmly and a voice told him the door was open, so he stepped inside.

A short, sandy-haired man sucking on a lollipop was walking down the hallway counting out cash. He looked up at Dean and frowned. 'Where is it?'

'Where's what?' Dean asked, confused.

'Uh, the pizza I ordered?' the man replied sarcastically, waving the bills around. 'You are the pizza man?'

'No, I'm here to see Cas.'

Lollipop guy raised an eyebrow. 'Cas? Not heard him called that before. Well, he's just in the shower, but feel free to wait here.'

Dean blushed. Oh great. Castiel had started early, apparently; it was already at the post-coital shower and food to build up strength for round two. And frankly, this guy? Dean was insulted. If it had been some really hunky guy, or even a hot chick, that would almost have been acceptable. But this little weenie? How dare Cas-

'Is that the pizza?' Castiel asked as he walked in wearing only jeans and towelling his hair dry.

'No, you have a visitor, _Cas_ ,' weenie guy replied, emphasising his name.

Castiel brought the towel around his shoulders and looked at him curiously. 'What did you call me?' he asked, then looked over to where weenie guy pointed his lollipop. A huge smile appeared on Cas's face as he realised who it was, and Dean couldn't help but grin a bit himself. 'Dean! Oh my god, what are you doing here?' He seemed genuinely enthusiastic and not at all embarrassed that Dean had caught him with a hook-up. In fact, he ignored said hook-up completely and ran over to his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around his neck and kissing him with such force that Dean stumbled back a step before he could get his arms around Cas's waist.

'Hello! Still here!' weenie lollipop hook-up guy reminded them, but Castiel wasn't remotely bothered.

'Shut up, Gabe,' he muttered, going back to kissing Dean, who processed this information with surprise. Gabe? Brother Gabe? 'Oh my god, I've missed you so much, Dean. Did you drive all the way here to surprise me?' Castiel seemed positively delighted.

'Uh, yeah, I did. I took the day off so I could get here tonight.'

'How long can you stay?'

'Until Sunday morning.'

'Best boyfriend ever,' Castiel stated emphatically. 'It's like you read my mind, I've been thinking about you all day.'

'Have you?'

'Yes. It was particularly awkward when I was TAing for the sophomore organic chemistry lab. Definition of inappropriate erection.'

'Again, still here!' Gabe whined. 'Please stop talking about your erections.'

Cas's eyes never left Dean's as he replied. 'You might want to go out for a while, Gabe. You're going to hear much worse than that soon.'

'Yeah, gross, definitely do not want to hear my little bro getting ploughed, thank you very much. I'm outta here as soon as that damn pizza shows up.'

'Oh, actually,' Dean interrupted, 'I got a motel room nearby.'

'You're a genius. Give me two minutes to get my stuff.' Castiel gave Dean's ass a playful slap and turned on his heel back to his room.

'So, you're Dean,' Gabe said, giving him an appraising look. 'Cassie never shuts up about you.'

'Really?' Dean asked, rubbing the back of his neck in a fit of shyness.

'Yep. "Can't go to Wings and Whiskey Wednesday, I'm Skyping with Dean. Dean sent me the funniest text. Dean is so gorgeous. Dean is so sweet." Blah blah blah. Sickening, really.'

Dean couldn't help but smile more widely at this information. 'Oh, um, that's cool.'

'Any particular reason for this surprise visit?'

'Can't a guy just miss his boyfriend?'

'Right.' Gabe didn't seem particularly convinced, but if he had any further thoughts on the subject, he was prevented from expressing them by Cas's return.

'Let's get out of here. See you Sunday, Gabe.'

'Hey, what about the pizza?'

'You'll have enough left for breakfast,' Castiel reassured him, taking Dean's hand and pulling him towards the door.

'Uh, nice to meet you, Gabe,' Dean said with a wave.

'You too, Dean-o. Try not to break him.'

Castiel opened the door, but their way out was blocked by a young man holding a large pizza, his hand poised to knock on the door.

'Oh, hello Castiel,' the delivery boy said with a blush creeping up his cheeks. 'How are you?'

'Hi Alfie. Sorry, I'm just on my way out, my boyfriend drove all the way from South Dakota to surprise me today!' Castiel replied excitedly. He turned to smile at Dean, which meant he missed the disappointment in Alfie's face at the word boyfriend- but Dean didn't.

'Oh, I didn't realise you had a boyfriend. Uh, well, anyway, here's your pizza.'

'Gabe's got the money. Hey Gabe, pizza!' he shouted back down the hall. 'He's coming. Bye Alfie!'

'Bye Castiel, have a good night.'

Castiel smiled and pulled Dean past Alfie and the pizza box, practically running for the Impala. Once there, he pushed Dean against the door and kissed him soundly. 'Fuck, I missed you so much, and you look fucking gorgeous. What do you want to do first? I mean, we could take my stuff to the motel and I could give you a blow job, but I also feel that there's a strong argument for road head on the way there, or parking somewhere and getting in the back seat. Then again, we could skip straight to the fucking. Decisions, decisions,' he mused as Dean let him into the passenger seat. Dean walked back around to the driver's side and noticed the pizza place motorcycle two spaces over, as well as the red face of its driver who must have heard Castiel's plans.

'Sorry, he, uh, gets enthusiastic,' he shrugged apologetically and got into the car. 'I think young Alfie got an earful there, Cas. Poor guy's not gonna know whether to cry or spank it.'

'What?'

'Well, I mean, you just broke his heart, but guaranteed he'll spend the rest of his shift thinking about you giving blow jobs.'

'What are you talking about?'

'You didn't notice that he's obviously got a crush on you?'

'Alfie? No.'

'Alfie, yes. You didn't see his face when you said I was your boyfriend. Like a kicked puppy. I guess he didn’t know about me.'

'No reason he would. He's just the pizza man. He brings pizza, we exchange pleasantries about the weather, I give him money, and he leaves.'

'Oh, yeah, I guess so.'

Castiel grinned. 'Why, are you jealous?' he teased.

'What? Psht, no,' Dean protested. 'I mean… should I be?' The question came out sounding more serious than he'd intended, and he felt Cas's intense gaze on him.

'Wait- what exactly did you think was going to happen tonight?'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean, did you drive up here on a Friday night because you were suspicious? Did you think you'd walk in on me on all fours getting spanked by the pizza man or something?'

'No. Not exactly. Maybe. I don't know.'

'Dean. Do you think I'm cheating on you?'

They were on a road that had parking to the side, so Dean pulled in to allow him to look at Cas. 'No, I didn't, not really. I was kinda scared, I didn't know what I'd find when I saw you in person. I thought you might not want to see me or decide that I wasn't as good as you remembered and you'd dump me. Maybe.' He could tell that Castiel was trying to decide between being angry, disappointed and frustrated. Dean thought he probably deserved all of them.

'And what did you actually find?' Castiel asked, voice tight.

'That you're awesome, and I'm a dick.' And he was, really. He felt horribly, painfully, achingly guilty. Castiel was obviously happy to see him. There had been no hesitation, nothing to suggest that a surprise visit was unwelcome now or any time; quite the opposite in fact. Gabe's comments implied that Castiel even chose talking to Dean over going out. He was being everything he'd promised he'd be, and Dean had come here so full of suspicion and insecurity that it hadn't even occurred to him that maybe they would just have a nice visit with lots of sex and cuddles and all that good shit they'd had at camp. God, he was _such_ a dick.

Castiel sighed. 'And here I was thinking that it was just all my thoughts of you made you manifest in my living room.'

'That would have been a lot cheaper. My baby is a beauty, but she was not designed for a world of three dollar gas,' Dean joked. 'I'm sorry Cas. It's hard for me to get past the idea that you're way too good for me.'

'I know. That's why I'm trying not to get too angry, I know it's less that you think I'm capable of cheating and more that you don't think you're worth being faithful to.'

'Yeah, I guess so.'

'I've had my chances, you know.' Dean frowned but didn't reply, so Castiel carried on. 'Hell, somebody asked me out yesterday.'

Dean gripped the steering wheel tightly just to have something to do with his hands, but he tried to stay calm. 'Did I get in the way of your date?' he said in what he hoped was a teasing manner.

'Dear god, no. I turned him down very firmly. But I thought you should know, because I don't want to keep things like that from you.'

Dean's fingers relaxed. 'So who is this guy?'

'He's a British exchange student with an even more outlandish name than mine.'

'That's hard to believe.'

'Balthazar.'

'Are you shittin' me, Cas? You got asked out by some British dude called Balthazar?'

'Yes. Can you imagine what sex would be like? How can you call out a name like Balthazar and not just laugh halfway through?'

'That's why you turned him down, huh?'

Castiel put a hand on Dean's knee and began trailing his fingers up the muscular thigh. 'Yes, the only reason,' he said sarcastically.

'Is he hot?'

'He kind of looks like that TV chef who swears at people who run terrible restaurants.'

'Gordon Ramsay?'

'I guess.'

'Well, I feel pretty outclassed. Want me to drive you to his house?' Dean teased.

'No. I want you to drive me to your motel room, and I'm going to suck your dick until you believe I want you and only you.'

'Your jaw might get tired,' Dean joked, but pulled Baby back out into traffic and got to the motel as quickly as he could. When they arrived, he barely had time to close the room door before he was slammed against it and kissed as Castiel frantically worked his jeans open. His jeans and boxers hit the floor about the same time as Cas's knees. It was the hell-for-leather pace they often had to use at camp when there was only half an hour to spare; after nearly two months with nothing but his own hand for satisfaction, Dean was coming down Cas's throat in what would have been an embarrassingly short time if Castiel hadn't come even faster almost an instant after Dean got his mouth around him.

'I missed you so much,' Castiel murmured again once they were both on their feet with their arms around each other. 'You have no idea.'

'I have some idea.'

'Not enough of one if you thought there was any chance I'd want anyone but you,' Castiel insisted.

'Hey, that was just me being a dumbass again,' Dean protested. 'You've never made me feel anything but wanted.'

'I _do_ want you. I've wanted you since I first laid eyes on you. But that's not all you are to me. You're… my god, Dean, I love you so much I can barely put it into words.'

Dean stiffened in Castiel's arms. _Love?_ 'You do?'

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I just wanted to make it clear exactly why you don't need to worry like that again.'

It was not the first time Castiel had stunned Dean into speechlessness, and he doubted it would be the last. Having driven six hours imagining all the worst-case scenarios, he couldn't quite believe that the situation was basically the exact opposite. Cas was faithful, devoted even; Cas missed him; Cas _loved_ him!

'How'd I get so damn lucky?' Dean asked when he finally regained the power of speech.

'Do you really not know?'

'I like to think it's because of my perky nipples,' Dean joked, 'but I'm guessing you'll say there's more to it than that.'

Castiel gently stroked his cheek and gazed at him adoringly. 'Oh Dean, of course there is. Have you _seen_ your ass? You could bounce a nickel off that thing.'

The unexpected levity had Dean collapsing into breathless laughter. 'Dammit Cas,' he wheezed, 'I fuckin' love you too, you hilarious weirdo.' The next thing he knew, Dean was being squeezed to within an inch of his life by a very happy Castiel.

'Come on, let's go lie down.' He tugged Dean along to the bed and pulled back the covers for them to cuddle underneath. 'We should talk some more. Tell me what made you so insecure.'

'It's OK, Cas, like I said, I was just being a dumbass.'

'There must have been something I did to make you feel this way. Please tell me.'

Dean couldn't resist those big, pleading blue eyes, and it all came tumbling out. 'Well, it's just… when you first came we had video chats all the time, now we barely manage to say hi on Wednesdays and talk for a bit on Saturdays. I… I thought maybe you were timing the Saturday call so I couldn't tell you were going out. And then you never mentioned anything about a visit again. It's been almost two months since we saw each other, and we still didn't have any plans to see each other again.'

Cas bit his lip and frowned. 'You're right, Dean. I haven't been giving our relationship the attention it deserves. I've been so overwhelmed by my classes and TAing and my part-time job-' He suddenly stopped himself and looked at Dean like a deer in the headlights.

'Part-time job?'

'Um, yes. I didn't want to tell you because I knew you wouldn't be happy about me doing so much, but I've also been waiting tables at a bar on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights.'

'But why would you do that? I thought your TA thing covered all your tuition and stuff?'

'It's only supposed to be temporary, so I could save up enough to buy a car so I could come visit you.' Castiel was blushing hard now and refusing to meet Dean's eye.

'What happened to the car you drove here in?'

'Somebody crashed into Hannah's car while it was parked and it got totalled. My parents figured Gabe and I could share his, so they took it back for her.'

'Cas, why didn't you just tell me?'

'Because I wanted to surprise you by showing up in Sioux Falls. But instead I almost lost you.'

Dean covered Castiel's face in kisses as he tried to soothe him. 'Hey, Cas, no. I should've said something sooner instead of just being a dumbass and assuming the worst. We'll just have to work on the whole communication thing. You know, words and stuff. My specialty.'

That at least got a chuckle out of Castiel. 'I really am sorry Dean. I'm so glad you're here.'

'Me too. How about we order a pizza and watch the Dr Sexy MD marathon on TNT?'

'You're a gentleman and a scholar, Dean Winchester. I would also like to propose that we make out a lot while we wait for the pizza.'

'Agreed.' They shook on it, and once Cas had ordered the pizza, scrupulously followed through on their agreement.

Poor Alfie got a second eyeful when he delivered the pizza thirty minutes later to a dishevelled, shirtless Castiel covered in stubble burn and hickeys. Dean may have let him be the one to answer the door for that reason, but he wasn't about to admit to it. Castiel brought the pizza to the small table, but before Dean could join him there, Castiel stripped off his jeans and walked back to the bed, hard cock in hand.

'Uh, what about pizza?' Dean asked, despite not being remotely interested in the pizza at that moment.

'It'll keep. I need to fuck you first.'

'Works for me!' Dean had only bothered to pull his boxers back on, so he just stripped them off and lay back while Castiel stalked towards him. 'Lube's in my bag.'

Taking only a brief detour for the Astroglide, Cas finally positioned himself between Dean's legs. 'Can't wait to be inside you,' he murmured as the first finger went in. 'It's been far too long.'

'Fuck, yeah it has,' Dean agreed, hips thrusting up as Cas's finger found his sweet spot. 'Missed you so much.'

Cas came up to kiss him, sliding a second finger in more easily than he expected. 'Have you been practicing, Dean?'

'I may have bought something to- ah, yeah, fuck- see me through the lonely nights.'

Cas moaned and dropped his head onto Dean's shoulder. 'Oh my god. You'll have to show me next time we Skype. I bet you look amazing.'

'It's not as good as the real thing, babe. Hurry up.' Cas followed Dean's instructions by adding a third finger, but Dean was too impatient. 'Cas,' he whined, 'just fuck me already.'

'So bossy,' Cas teased, but he didn't waste any more time in lubing himself up and easing into Dean. 'You OK?'

'Awesome,' Dean panted. 'Gimme more.'

Cas began moving, slowly and gently, staying close enough to kiss Dean's neck. 'I love you,' he whispered. 'I love you so much.'

'Love you too, Cas,' Dean replied, running his hands down Cas's bare back. The pace stayed slow and sweet, definitely lovemaking rather than fucking. Cas was determined to send Dean the message that he was loved and wanted.

'I'm sorry I made you worry. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me.'

'You're- mmm, right there- making me blush.'

'Apologies. I'll make you come instead.' He increased the pace of his thrusts and pushed up onto one arm so he could wrap a hand around Dean's cock. Dean writhed up into it, breath coming faster and faster until he finally arched up, coming over Cas's fingers. 'That's it,' Cas urged, continuing to milk him through it. 'Oh, fuck yes.' He snapped his hips a final time and collapsed onto Dean's chest as his own orgasm overtook him.

'Daaamn,' Dean sighed, 'that was awesome.'

'Agreed.' They both groaned as Cas pulled out gingerly, and Dean grimaced at the mess.

'Shower then pizza?' he suggested.

'Sounds good.' Dean began to sit up, but Cas grabbed his arm to stop him getting up. 'Dean- I meant every word. You're the one for me.'

Dean leaned back down and gave Cas a soft kiss. 'You're the one for me, too.'

**********

Dean left Madison in a much better mood than when he'd arrived. It had turned out to be a pretty cool town, and now that they had a concrete plan to see each other for half of the week-long break Cas would get for Thanksgiving, he was feeling more positive about the future. They had also agreed to say goodnight by FaceTime every night even if they didn't have time to talk for long, and Castiel quit his bar job as soon as he'd scraped together enough for an old Subaru that would be able to handle driving through Minnesota in the winter.

Even so, October and November dragged on with their only interactions being through a screen, and the three days they had before Castiel had to go to Omaha for Thanksgiving just weren't enough. Dean officially hated long-distance relationships, but he couldn't think of any way to change it before Castiel finished his PhD, and that would take years.

'Why don't you just move to Madison?' Sam asked him one mid-December day when they were binging Game of Thrones at Dean's apartment.  

'Huh?'

'You're always talking about how you miss Cas and wish you were closer. Why not move there?'

'Because… because I live here,' Dean replied lamely. Truth be told, it had never occurred to him that he could move to Madison. 'I've got my apartment and my job at the garage.'

'I'm sure they have apartments and garages in Madison, Dean,' Sam countered snarkily.

'Yeah, but nobody else is gonna let me take three months off every summer to work at camp.'

'So quit when summer comes and get another job after, or just don't work at camp. What's the big deal?'

'But I've been going to Camp Chitaqua most of my life.'

'What's more important, camp or Cas?'

'Cas,' Dean said without even having to think about it. 'Oh.'

'Yeah. So, like I said. Why don't you just move to Madison?'

Dean thought about it for several more days and realised that Sam was right. He couldn't ask Cas to give up his dream PhD program, but he could find work as a mechanic anywhere. Cas was worth it.

He spoke to Bobby the next day, and was surprised to find that Bobby was even able to give him a lead on a job; he had barely explained his reasons for wanting to move when Bobby picked up the phone and called his old pal Rufus, who as it happened owned a garage in a small town near Madison. Rufus didn't have enough work for him, but he did have connections in the area and could ask around. He took Dean's number and said he'd call when he had any news.

'Thanks Bobby, you didn't have to do that.'

'Aw hell, boy, I'm doing this for my own sake. I'm tired of you moping around here making the place all soppy with your pining. Now git, that Ford ain't gonna fix itself. Oh, and Dean, when you meet Rufus- take a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label.'

Rufus definitely earned that bottle; by midway through January he'd gotten Dean three phone interviews with garages in Madison, and one of those panned out into an invitation to an interview in person. As it happened, Dean was already planning to drive across for his birthday at the end of January, so he scheduled the interview for that Friday and left a day early without telling Castiel. The owner of the garage offered him the job on the spot, and Dean accepted happily, agreeing on a start date in mid-February to give Dean time to empty his apartment and move. Now he just had to tell Cas.

Dean pulled into Castiel's apartment complex at the planned time and pretended he'd just arrived. Gabe was out, so they ordered some Chinese and cuddled in front of the TV. Castiel seemed distracted, and Dean had to force down the insecurities that were threatening to overwhelm him again. As he'd promised, he tried to use his words.

'Hey Cas, you OK? You seem a bit off.'

Castiel sighed. 'I'm sorry, Dean. There's something I want to talk to you about, but I'm a bit nervous about it. It isn’t bad!' he added hastily when he saw Dean's face go pale. 'It's just… well, one of the professors I'm interested in doing my research with is going to be moving his lab to the University of South Dakota. Vermillion is only like an hour away from Sioux Falls, and I'm just so sick of long-distance, so I thought, maybe I could look into transferring.'

'No.'

Dean's blunt answer clearly startled him. 'No?'

'No. You said this was the best school for your subject. I don't want you giving that up to be closer to me. You _are_ right about one thing though, I'm sick of long-distance too.'

'Oh.' Castiel's head drooped to his chest, clearly expecting the worst from Dean's next words.

'But I can't have you moving out to South Dakota when I've just gone to all that effort to get a job in Madison.'

Castiel's head snapped up. 'What?'

'Had my interview today, I start the sixteenth of February. Do you think Gabe will mind if I crash with you guys for a while?'

'Dean, I swear to god, if you're fucking with me-'

'Cas,' Dean said calmly, taking Castiel's face between his hands. 'I'm being completely serious. It was actually Sam who gave me the idea, and Bobby hooked me up with a friend of his who helped me find the job. I'm moving here, but only if it's OK with you.'

'OK with me? Dean, that's the best news I've ever heard! I'll start looking for a new place for us right away.'

'What about Gabe?'

'He lived alone before I moved in, he'll be fine. Oh my god, I'm so happy!' Castiel threw his arms around Dean's neck. 'I love you.'

'I love you, too.' He gave Cas a final squeeze and pulled back to look at him again. 'So, tomorrow's my birthday, we're gonna move in together… how are we gonna celebrate?'

Cas swung his leg over and straddled Dean's lap. 'I'm sure we'll come up with something.'


	4. Epilogue

'Cas, come on, we've gotta get on the road!' Dean called out. 'What are you still doing in there?'

Cas ran out the door of their house holding up a pair of flip flops triumphantly. 'Found them! Can't go to Camp Chitaqua without flip flops!'

Dean rolled his eyes. 'He's got two other pairs of sandals in his bag, I think he'd have survived without flip flops.'

'You can never have too much footwear,' Cas insisted as he locked the door behind him. As soon as he was buckled into the passenger seat, Dean started the Impala and began their three and a half hour journey to Camp Chitaqua. 'Are we stopping at The Roadhouse for lunch on the way?'

'Obviously.'

'Dad, can I have a burger when we get there?' a third voice piped up from the back seat.

'Of course you can, buddy,' Dean replied. 'Can't go to The Roadhouse and not have a burger, right?'

'Daddy says you're not sposed to have a burger cuz of your cholesterol.'

'Daddy can shut his pie hole.'

'Dean! Don't talk that way in front of Jack, you know he copies all your bad habits,' Cas complained.

'I don't think you have a pie hole, Daddy,' Jack assured him. 'Dad's the one who loves pie.'

'You got that right, little dude. So, are you excited for camp?' Dean asked, changing the subject before Castiel got too annoyed.

'Yeah! Daddy said it's the best place he ever went in his whole life!'

Dean turned and smiled at his husband, who grinned back and reached his hand across the bench seat to interlace their fingers together. 'He's right about that.'

'Are there gonna be bugs there? I love bugs.'

'Plenty of bugs, kiddo,' Dean confirmed. 'Beetles, ants, bees, spiders, you name it, they got it.'

'Awesome!'

'I will never understand his enthusiasm for creepy crawlies,' Castiel said with a shudder.

'He's a ten-year-old boy, that's just what they do.'

'I didn't.'

'Yeah, but you were always kinda fancy, Cas,' Dean teased.

'I'll show you fancy when we get to the Lakeview,' Cas muttered. Dean grinned at that promise; after dropping Jack off at camp, they were going to spend the night at the motel where they'd first made love, twenty years after they'd first gone there.

'Uncle Sam said I should ask you guys about a bunker,' Jack chirped, already bored by a conversation that clearly didn't include him. 'Is there a bunker at camp?'

Castiel chuckled. 'The Bunker is just a nickname for one of the cabins they used to have back in the day. They tore it down a long time ago, but it's where your dad and I first met.'

'And had our first… kiss,' Dean said with a wink to Castiel.

'Eww! Kissing is gross,' Jack stated emphatically.

'Please continue to think so for a good few years yet, Jack,' Castiel said approvingly.

Dean just chuckled as he pulled onto the highway to drive away from Minneapolis. They had eventually settled in the Twin Cities after Cas got his first permanent job there twelve years earlier, and once they'd bought a house, they'd also found a surrogate to have their son Jack. They had never intended to find out which one of them was the biological father, but from very early on his looks had made it abundantly clear that he was definitely Castiel's. Dean had been surprised to find that he didn't mind one bit; Jack was his son regardless of genetics.

And now here he was, ten years old and going to the very place that had made his existence possible- Camp Chitaqua. It had been Sam who had jokingly suggested sending him when he reached the minimum age, since it was a family tradition, but Cas had been hesitant to send his little boy so far away, even though children under age thirteen only stayed for a maximum of two weeks. Dean had managed to convince him by reminding him that Jack being away would widely expand the potential locations and volume of their sexual escapades; that night they had asked Jack if he wanted to go and got an enthusiastic yes.

Donna had retired a couple of years before, but her niece was now running the camp. The cost had also gone up a fair bit from what Dean remembered, but as Cas reminded him, they weren’t exactly broke students anymore; he was a fully tenured professor, and Dean was half-owner of the garage where he worked.

Sam had been very thorough informing Jack of what to expect from camp, including teaching him songs that they would sing while doing such activities as hiking and sitting around the campfire, and he insisted on spending the car ride singing all of them with his dads. Dean was prepared to draw the line at Kumbaya, but fortunately they reached The Roadhouse before it got that far.

The diner was still much as they remembered it, though it had clearly been renovated a couple of times in the last twenty years. Most importantly from Dean's perspective, the menu looked pretty much the same, and he pointedly ignored Cas's raised eyebrow as he ordered a double bacon cheeseburger and apple pie à la mode.

After lunch they drove the short distance to Camp Chitaqua, and for the first time, Dean parked in the parent drop off lot. To their surprise, a smiling Donna strolled out to meet them.

'Donna! I thought you'd be on a cruise in the Caribbean or something!' Dean said as he gave her a bear hug.

'Are you kidding me? When I saw a Winchester-Novak signed up for this session I wanted to make sure I'd be here to say hello. I haven't seen you boys since my retirement party, and that's just way too long.'

Cas walked up with the bags, which Dean took so he could have a turn hugging Donna, and Jack followed looking shy. 'Hey buddy, remember Ms Donna? You met her when you were seven and went to that big party?'

Jack nodded and extended his hand politely. Donna shook it with a smile. 'Hello Ms Donna, it's nice to see you again.'

'Well aren't you so polite?' she asked. 'You must get that from your daddy Cas, because I know you don't get it from Dean.'

'Hey!' Dean protested, but he couldn't really deny the truth of it.

'How about we show Jack where The Bunker used to be and then get him settled in?' Cas suggested. Once Donna had finished getting Jack signed in, Dean and Cas took him around to the new cabins where Bear Lodge had previously stood; and when Cas leaned a head on his shoulder, Dean couldn't help but wrap an arm around Cas and plant a kiss in his hair.

Jack rolled his eyes at the typical sappiness of his parents and readjusted his backpack. 'Can we go to my cabin now?' he asked impatiently. 'I want to have a good bed!' Since they were one of the first ones to arrive, Jack ended up having his pick of the beds. In his usual thoughtful way, he looked around at the six sets of bunks and finally settled on where he wanted to be in the room, but still didn't put his bag on one. Looking up at Cas, he asked, 'Top or bottom?'

Cas managed to keep a straight face, but Dean had to leave the room. He didn't stop laughing until they got to the motel.

 'It wasn't _that_ funny, Dean,' Cas said with a wry grin.

'It really was, babe. I thought I was gonna bust a nut back there.'

'I'm just glad you went outside. I didn't want to have to explain _that_ joke to Jack.'

Dean shrugged. 'He knows about the birds and the bees. Speaking of which,' he continued, wrapping his arms around Cas and slipping a hand into the waistband of his jeans. 'Top or bottom?'


End file.
